§ Brian CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses used business links in each year since 1995, broken down by region; and how many of these inquiries were the result of initial contact with the Small Business Service. [30547]
§ Nigel GriffithsThe table shows how many businesses used Business Links in each year since 1996–97; data for 1995–96 are not available. A business that receives advice twice within a quarter is counted only once but a business that receives assistance in separate quarters will be counted in each quarter.
Between April 2001 and September 2001, over 12,000 inquiries were referred to Business Links from initial contact with SBS service providers. Earlier data are not available.
These are the latest figures available and are excluding receipts. The changes from the original budget reflects in-year additional funding for things such as the Business Recovery fund to help small businesses deal with the foot and mouth crisis and new programmes such as the regional centres of manufacturing excellence.
The RDA board members' salaries and expenses for the financial year 2000–01 are as follows:
£000s Regional Development Agency Total Salaries for board members Total Expenses for board members One North East 139 14 North West Development Agency 139 29 Yorkshire Forward 120 7 East Midlands Development Agency 148 19 Advantage West Midlands 138 15 East of England Development Agency 148 21 South East of England Development Agency 152 17 South West of England Regional Development Agency 146 34 Total 1130 156 Note:
All figures have been rounded to the nears £000.
69WLondon Development Agency board members are the responsibility of the Greater London Authority.
The total salaries for board members of each region vary for a number of reasons, such as: numbers of members, date of appointment, some members waive their fees and some members have additional responsibilities for which they are remunerated. The figures for board members' salaries are taken from the RDAs' annual accounts for 2000–01.